﻿And it came to pass after these things, that God tested Avraham, and said to him, Avraham; and he said, 'Here I am. And he said, Take now your son, your only son Yitzchak, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell you. Bereishit 22:1,2.

When confronted with the Divine imperative, Avraham does not flinch; he marches to the place that God told him; the word of God would be fulfilled. The Torah only tells of Avraham’s actions, and the narrative gives us no sense that Avraham hesitated in any way: Avraham awakens early and sets out on his macabre mission. We are not made privy to the thoughts racing through Avraham’s mind. Did this grotesque commandment cause Avraham to question the promises God had made to him, or to question his basic understanding of God as merciful and good?

Readers of the text may be far more intrigued by those thoughts than by the actions which the Torah describes. On a logical level, Avraham faced a quandary: God had previously assured him that this son, and no other, would carry on his name and his mission; the covenant forged with Avraham was to be continued through Yitzchak and his children. If Yitzchak, as yet unmarried and childless, is to be slaughtered in sacrifice, can Avraham comprehend or contend with the thought that God’s words would be proven false?[1]

The gnawing, haunting elements of the akeida stem from the permanence of death: If death can be temporary, if the body can be healed, reunited with the soul, then the harshest element of the akeida disappears. Can it be that Avraham's own experiences told him that the akeida was not the final act of Yitzchak's life-story? Avraham himself had been thrown into a fiery furnace – apparently with his father's blessing or acquiescence[2] – and emerged unscathed; perhaps he believed, with a conviction that few others can comprehend, that Yitzchak would live, even if he offered him as a sacrifice.

Life After Death?

This may be related to a possible resolution which seems to elude Jewish minds: Avraham was to have killed Yitzchak, and subsequently Yitzchak would return from the dead. The idea of resurrection is certainly a Jewish idea, and is considered a basic principle of faith; nonetheless, ever since the idea was hijacked[3] by Christianity and made a central tenet of that religion, Jews seem to distance themselves from the concept, despite the fact that we confirm this principle of faith in our prayers on a thrice - daily basis.

While this may resolve some of the questions that we have regarding Avraham's mindset, it is not the scenario of choice, for the simple reason that Avraham did not, in fact, kill Yitzchak. Nonetheless, various midrashim and commentaries prefer to read Yitzchak’s death into the text.

Rav Yehuda said, 'When the sword reached his throat, his soul ascended and Yitzchak died. When He made his voice heard from between the keruvim saying “Do not raise a hand to the boy,” (Yitzchak's) soul returned to his body, Yitzchak arose and stood on his feet. Yitzchak knew that this is how the dead would be resurrected in the future, and he said, “Blessed are You who resurrects the dead”. Pirki D’Rebbi Eliezer, Chapter 30[4]

The scenario described in this midrash is radically different than what we have come to visualize: Although Avraham does not actively kill him, Yitzchak dies on the altar. His soul ascends to heaven, but is returned to his body when the Voice of God rings out from between the keruvim, and Yitzchak experiences and comprehends resurrection.

The keruvim are familiar to us from the first parsha of Bereishit: God stations a pair of celestial protectors on the path leading back to the Garden of Eden. In our present context, the keruvim function as an oracle,[5] more in line with the description of the keruvim that stood in the Mishkan and later in the Beit Hamikdash in Jerusalem. In fact, this midrash apparently has more to tell us than the alternate akeida scenario; there is, encoded within it, a deep understanding of the function of the keruvim and of the Beit Hamikdash.

The Chosen Place

The akeida took place on a mountain chosen by God and shown to Avraham, a very specific mountain called Moriah. This is the very spot on which the Beit Hamikdash was constructed generations later, the spot upon which the Ark of the Covenant stood, shielded by the keruvim. Yet the confluence of space is not the end of the story: The sacrifice Avraham was called upon to offer was the first sacrifice in Jewish history, and it was performed on the precise spot that would later be the focal point of all sacrifice. Yitzchak is the first offering, the offering which consecrated the Altar that would stand on this very spot. The midrashic insistence that Yitzchak died at the akeida is no mere quirk: MountMoriah is the place of sacrifice, and Yitzchak was sacrificed.

We should note that there are other connections between Yitzchak and the Mishkan/Mikdash: The Mishkan is consecrated in the month of Nisan, even though the materials were collected and assembled months before, on the 25th of Kislev. Why the delay? The consecration of the Mishkan had to take place in Nisan, according to tradition, because Yitzchak was born in Nisan.[6]

Because the verses tell us that Yitzchak was in fact spared, we tend to analyze the episode in terms of Avraham, to delve into his thoughts and follow his actions. However, if we can entertain the possibility that Yitzchak perished – actually or figuratively, potentially – as the Midrash suggests, we are thrust into an entirely different set of motives, considerations and thought processes. If we can take the conjecture one step further, as did the midrash, and include the resurrection, we gain insight into the inner workings of the Beit Hamikdash and the sacrifices offered there: God creates man, but man sins. The result – inevitable, irrefutable - should be death.

So it was from the very first sin in the Garden of Eden: A person who turns their back on the source of all life will surely die. Yet God does not carry out the death sentence. He allows us to repent. He creates a place and an instrument of forgiveness: Man can express his realization that he has sinned and deserves to die, and bring an offering in his place. And man, who up until that point is "as good as dead", is then reconnected with the source of all life; man is resurrected. All of the offerings brought by guilty, sinful man effectuate a type of figurative resurrection.

Yitzchak’s death - or near death - represent the ability of man to return from death, to extricate himself from the limbo state between living and dead. This is what sacrifice does; this is the purpose of the Beit Hamikdash. Every layer of the akeida account leads in this direction: Avraham, who represents, chesed (kindness), offers up Yitzchak, who represents din (judgment). The offering is accepted: true judgment, the death sentence which is the letter of the law, is sacrificed in favor of life. Chesed will be the dominant trait in this place for all time. The akeida is the chanukat hamizbach – the consecration of the Altar – for it sets for all time the dynamic of the transformative and rejuvenating qualities of chesed, as expressed in the atonement effectuated by sacrifice.[7]

Recurrent Resurrection

In fact, the idea of resurrection is the major element of the Haftorah portion read with this parsha: In a dramatic scene, Elisha revives and resurrects a dead child.

﻿And when Elisha came into the house, behold, the child was dead, and laid upon his bed. He went in therefore, and closed the door upon the two of them, and prayed to the God. And he went up, and lay upon the child, and put his mouth upon his mouth, and his eyes upon his eyes, and his hands upon his hands; and he stretched himself upon the child; and the flesh of the child became warm.[8] Then he returned, and walked in the house to and fro; and went up, and stretched himself upon him; and the child sneezed seven times, and the child opened his eyes. And he called Gehazi, and said, Call this Shunemmite. And he called her. And when she came to him, he said, Take up your son. Then she went in, and fell at his feet, and bowed to the ground, and took up her son, and went out. 2 Kings 4:32-37

The background to this dramatic scene makes the connection with our parsha even more striking: As in the case of Yitzchak, this child was born to a woman and her elderly husband. The parents were informed of the birth by a messenger of God, in this case the prophet Elisha. [9] The woman's response to the news echoes the response of Sarah:[10]

﻿And it happened one day, that he came there, and he turned into the chamber, and lay there. And he said to Gehazi his servant, 'Call this Shunamite.' And when he had called her, she stood before him. And he said to him, 'Say now to her, "Behold, you have been careful to take all this trouble for us. What is to be done for you? Would you be spoken for to the king, or to the captain of the army?"' And she answered, 'I live among my own people.' And he said, 'What then is to be done for her?' And Gehazi answered, 'Truly she has no child, and her husband is old.' And he said, 'Call her.' And when he had called her, she stood in the door. And he said, 'About this season, in the coming year, you shall embrace a son.' And she said, 'No, my lord, you man of God, do not lie to your maidservant.' And the woman conceived, and bore a son at that season that Elisha had said to her, in the following year.

The Haftorah began with acts of kindness: Elisha helps the poor, and the Shunamite woman and her husband go to great lengths to provide comfortable lodging for Elisha, the "man of God". All of this parallels the acts of kindness performed by Avraham at the start of our parsha. The text then goes into seemingly extraneous detail regarding the amenities prepared for Elisha's room:

﻿And she said to her husband, 'Behold now, I perceive that this is a holy man of God, who passes by us continually. Let us make a little chamber, I beg you, on the wall; and let us set for him there a bed, and a table, and a stool, and a lampstand; and it shall be, when he comes to us, that he shall turn in there. 2 Kings, 4:9-10.

While the objects enumerated seem ordinary, there are those who see great symbolism in these utensils. The lamp and the table – the Menorah and the Shulchan – are reminiscent of the utensils of the Beit Hamikdash. The Reshit Chachma[11] (following a teaching of the Zohar[12]) explains that this is an attempt to emulate the essence and purpose of the Mishkan/Beit Hamikdash: to bring holiness into this world.[13] The Shunamite was attempting to build the Temple and bring holiness into her home through the acts of kindness for a holy man of God, the Prophet Elisha. In turn, she is blessed with a child, granted to her in miraculous fashion – despite her husband's advanced age. When this child perishes, he is brought to the "quasi-Temple" and resurrected.

With the story told by the Haftorah in mind, the parsha is cast in a somewhat different light, with the various themes and events gaining different emphases. Only in the context of the Haftorah do we understand that Avraham’s chesed is not only the starting point, it is the point. The arrival of the long-awaited child may have seemed momentarily to be the point of the story. The tragic death of that child may have been seen as the sad end of that story. Yet the end of the story of the Haftorah is the end of the midrashic story of the akeida: The resurrection of the child gives new hope when all hope was lost. This is the essence of the Beit Hamikdash: to uplift man when all hope is lost, to breathe into him new hope, and new life. That is why the room prepared by the Shunamite is outfitted with the very same utensils as the Temple; that is why the akeida takes place on the very same spot where the Temple will one day stand. That is why the midrash describes Yitzchak's lifeless body on the altar, as if he were killed and resurrected, for on this hallowed ground many would find their way back to God, and back to life.

[1] Rabbi Soloveitchik cited his grandfather Rav Chaim as applying one of the rules of hermeneutics in this case: When two verses contradict one another, the third, reconciling verse is sought. In this case, the third verse was the commandment of the angel who told Avraham to cease and desist. See Halakhic Man, Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik (translated by Lawrence Kaplan) page 143 footnote 5.

[2] See Midrash Rabbah Bereishit 38:13, where it is reported that Terach delivered Avraham to Nimrod.

[3] It is my assumption that a misreading of the akeida by early Christians is what made the crucifixion and resurrection a central part of their religion.

[4] Rav Mordechai Cohen reports a tradition that Avraham actually severed most of Yitzchak’s trachea and windpipe – rendering him a “kosher” offering; see Siftei Cohen Bereishit 23:2,where he cites this tradition in the name of the Zohar. The source in the Zohar has eluded me (and others). In fact, Rav Mordechai did not actually find this passage either; he states that he heard that such a teaching is recorded in the Zohar.

[7] The consecration of the Mishkan also had a “sacrifice”, Nadav and Avihu died that day. See Vayikra 10:3 and Rashi’s comments. According to mystical sources they returned – their souls transmigrated, see Explorations Parshat Shmini.

[9] Many mystical sources teach that children born in miraculous circumstances are more susceptible to “harsh judgment” and death. Some examples of these "miracle children" are Yitzchak, Binyamin, Chabakuk, and Yona.

[12] Zohar Volume 2, 133a: "﻿And she said to her husband, 'Behold now, I perceive that this is a holy man of God, who passes by us continually. Let us make a little chamber, I beg you, on the wall; and let us set for him there a bed, and a table, and a stool, and a lampstand; and it shall be, when he comes to us, that he shall turn in there.( 2 Kings, 4:9-10) Here we have an allusion to the order of prayer: "Behold now, I perceive" refers to the concentration of mind during prayer; "that this is a holy man of God"” refers to the supernal world which sits upon its Throne of Glory and from whence emanate all sanctifications and which sanctifies all worlds; "who passes by us continually" - with the sanctification wherewith the worlds above are nourished, he also sanctifies us here below, for there can be no completion of the sanctification above without sanctification below, as it is written:' I shall be sanctified in the midst of the children of Israel' (Vayikra 22, 32). "Therefore, let us make a little chamber": let us have an ordered service as a dwelling for the Shekinah, which is called 'wall', as in the verse, 'And Hizkiyah turned his face to the wall' (Yishayahu 38, 2). This dwelling place, created by our prayers and praises, consists of a bed, a table, a stool, and a menorah. By our evening prayers we provide Her (the Shekhina) with a bed; by our hymns of praise and by reciting the section of the sacrifice in the morning we provide Her with a table. By the morning prayers, which are said sitting, and with the proclamation of the Divine Unity (the Shema), we provide Her with a stool; and by means of those prayers which must be said standing (Amidah) and of the Kaddish and Kedushah prayers and benedictions we provide Her with a menorah. Blessed is the man who thus endeavours daily to give hospitality to the Holy One. Blessed is he in this world and blessed shall he be in the world to come. For these four groups of prayers equip the Shekinah with beauty, joy and lustre, to greet Her Spouse with delight and ecstasy day by day, through the worship of the holy people. The bed was given to Yaacov to prepare, therefore he (composed) the evening prayer; the table was prepared by King David in the Psalms which he wrote ('You prepare a table before me',”(Tehilim 23, 5)); the stool was prepared by Avraham, through his close union with God, wherewith he benefited the souls of all the sons of men. The menorah was prepared by Yitzchak, who sanctified the Name of the Holy One before the eyes of the whole world, and lighted the supernal light in that sanctification. Therefore the Holy People must direct its mind towards the supernal world, and prepare for the Lord of the House a bed, a table, a stool, and a menorah, in order that perfection and harmony may reign undisturbed every day, both above and below.

[13] These objects may also be connected with the three commandments bestowed upon women, Challa nidah and lighting candles. These three elements were also found in Sarah’s tent. See Rashi on Bereishit 24:67 and Sefer HaLiquitim, Shoftim chapter 15.

Saturday, October 24, 2009

Parshat Lech Lecha begins in what seems to be the middle – the middle of Avraham's life, the middle of some ongoing dialogue or relationship between Avraham and God, the middle of a paradigm shift, the middle of Terah's failed voyage to Canaan. The gap in the biographical information leaves us at a loss to understand why Avraham has been chosen[1]. This dearth of detail becomes even more curious when we compare it to last week's parsha: Despite everything we don't know about Noach, at a very minimum we are told that he was a righteous man who walked with God. He was set apart from his generation by a certain moral uniqueness. What do we know about Avraham? Avraham was introduced at the end of Parshat Noach in almost laconic terms: Terah, son of Nahor, takes Lot, his grandson by his deceased son, as well as Avram, one of his two surviving sons, and Avram's wife Sarai, and sets out for Canaan. He makes it as far as Charan, and the narrative stops there. We know nothing of the moral fiber of this family, no personal details about any of the characters. In fact, the commentaries suggest that Terach's son Nahor was only a half-brother to Avraham and Nahor, and that Sarai was actually a sister to Lot and Milka. In short, the opening statement of our present parsha takes us by surprise:

And God said to Avram, "Go forth from your land and your birthplace and from the house of your father to the land that I will show you; and I will make you into a great nation and I will bless ayou and I will magnify your name and you will be a blessing. And I will bless those that bless you and curse those who curse you, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed because of you. (Bereishit 12:1-4)

Avram merits direct communication, intimate personal involvement with God. He is given a direct commandment, and promised almost unimaginable reward. We have no inkling as to the events that precipitate this commandment.

If the text of our parsha leaves us with questions, we may turn to the haftorah reading chosen by our sages to fill in the gaps. Yet here, too, there is a dearth of detail. The haftorah reading for this portion is a section taken from the Book of Yishaiyahu, 40: 26-41 through 41: 16. This reading speaks, in general, about the nature of the People of Israel as God's chosen nation. There is only one reference to Avraham in the section:

ספר ישעיה פרק מא

(ח) ואתה ישראל עבדי יעקב אשר בחרתיך זרע אברהם אהבי

You are Yisrael, my servant Yaakov whom I have chosen, descendents of Avraham who loved Me.

We are left to surmise from this verse that the "chosenness" of The People of Israel is a result of the chosenness of Yaakov, which is a result of Avraham's love of God. Clearly, this is a very central tenet of our faith, a pillar of our national identity; where, then, can we find Avraham's love of God in the text of the Torah?

Rashi analyzes the text of the Haftorah for clues:

רש"י ישעיה פרק מא פסוק ח

זרע אברהם אוהבי – שלא הכירני מתוך תוכחה ולימוד אבותיו אלא מתוך אהבה:

Avraham finds God not through fear or rebuke, nor through the teachings of his father, but through love. Avraham comes to a unique and solitary understanding of God, Creator and Sustainer of the Universe, as the source and essence of love. As this parsha unfolds, each episode of Avraham's life story must be seen through the prism of Avraham's discovery of God.

Other commentaries expand Rashi's comment in order to bring into focus the details of Avraham's life.

And the attribute of hesed is the mystery of love, as we shall see; and once Avraham merited the attribute of hesed he entered this love, and in this regard the verse refers to 'Avraham who loved Me'.

The love which Avraham discovers, the attribute of God as a loving and sustaining Creator, is manifest in God's attribute of hesed, and this becomes the defining attribute of Avraham's relationship with God and with his fellow men for the rest of his life.

Other commentaries interpret this verse differently, with an ear to the echoes of the word ahava as it appears later in the Torah. First, the Ramban's discussion of ahavat Hashem (love of God), as it appears in his commentary on the Ten Commandments:

"And I (God) will do hesed to those who love Me and to those who safeguard My commandments": …Those who love God are they who forfeit their souls for Him, those who know and recognize God's singularity and sovereignty and reject any foreign power or deity, even if doing so puts them in mortal danger – they are called ohavei Hashem (lovers of God), for this is the love that is required of us by the verse "And you shall love the Almighty your God with all of your heart and with all of your soul." You are required to forfeit you soul and your life for His love, that you must not exchange love of God for any other (god), nor accept any other deity along with Him. In this regard Avraham is called "Avraham who loved Me," because he forfeited his life rather than worship other gods in Ur Kasdim. Other righteous people are called "those who safeguard His commandments", and other authorities have pointed out in many instances (see Rambam's Commentary on the Mishna, Sanhedrin, beginning of Chapter 10) that this refers to those who serve God motivated only by love and not in the hope of receiving any reward (see Sifri Devarm 11:13). Ramban Sh'mot 10:6

The Ramban equates love of God with uncompromising monotheism. The Jew is commanded, notes the Rambam, to love God "with all your heart and all your soul," even to the point of martyrdom. This is the sort of love of God that Avraham had: his belief in the singularity and uniqueness of God was so absolute and exclusive that he was prepared to die rather than worship the pagan gods of Ur Kasdim. Ramban here refers to an incident that does not appear in the text of the Torah but which has become so ingrained in our collective consciousness that it is an axiom of our faith: Avraham was cast into the fiery furnace when he espoused monotheism and refused to renounce his belief in the Oneness of God.

The Ramban continues his analysis of the concept of ahavat Hashem (love of God), and his conclusion gives us pause:

And I found in the Mikhilta on this verse: 'To those that love Me' refers to Avraham and his kind; 'To those who safeguard My commandments' refers to the Prophets and the Elders. Rabbi Natan says, "To those who love Me and those who safeguard My commandments,' this refers to them that dwell in the Land of Israel and martyr themselves: 'Why are you being taken out to be killed?' 'Because I circumcised my son.' 'Why are you to be burned at the stake?' 'Because I studied Torah.' 'Why are you to be crucified?' 'Because I ate matza (on Pesach)'…And those who intimate that the first part of the verse refers to Avraham, and the second part to the Prophets (intimating that the latter sought reward for their service of God) are incorrect. Herein lies a mystery: Avraham forfeited his soul out of ahava, whereas the others were motivated by gevura.

Avraham was motivated by love - not by justice, not by truth, nor by any other attribute through which God relates to the world. The prophets and other righteous martyrs were motivated by these other aspects of God's uniqueness; Avraham alone related to God purely through ahava.

Elsewhere, the Ramban extrapolates from this unique relationship between Avraham and God:

And He chose you from all the nations to be uniquely beloved and to be his portion, because in all cases choice is a differentiation from from others, and He stated the reason: Because of God's love for you He chose you, for He saw that you are worthy of being loved and preferred you for this love more than all other nations. And He gave no reason for this choice, because the one chosen for love is most capable of suffering anything that may befall him because of that love. And Israel are more capable of suffering than all the other nations… Ramban D'varim 7:7

Just as Avraham was chosen because he was willing to go into the furnace for his belief, the Jewish People are chosen by God because they are capable or more inclined to suffer for their love and their belief. Avraham's love of God manifests itself in his willingness to go into the furnace, and this creates the chosenness. Over the ages, Avraham's descendents have proven again and again that they are willing to suffer for their love of God, to die for their belief.

Other commentaries see the manifestation of Avraham's ahavat Hashem not in martyrdom but in the conduct of his life: Avraham spent his life spreading the belief in One God, not because he was a seeker of truth but because his love of God was so great that he could not contain this information. In fact, the Rambam formulates this type of ahavat Hashem as the third in his list of positive commandments by which each and every Jew is obligated:

The third positive commandment: The Transcendent One has commanded that we love Him… And our sages have already taught that this commandment includes that we teach and call out to all other men to serve Him and to believe in Him; just as when you love another person you will constantly have him in mind and praise him to others, and seek to make others love him. This is analogous to love of God, for a person who truly loves God will attempt to enlighten others insofar as his own grasp of God has enlightened him, and he will surely try to persuade the non-believers and the unenlightened to see the truth as he has seen it. So it is written in the Sifri, 'And you shall love the Almighty your God, make him beloved upon others as did Avraham your Forefather, as it is written, "and the souls they made in Charan"' In other words, like Avraham, because of his love of God, as scripture testifies "Avraham who loved Me," sought to influence others because of the great understanding that he achieved, and because of his love of God called out to others to believe, so you should love God and thus bring others close to Him. Sefer Hamitzvot Positive Commandment 3

Avraham 'ohavi is reflected in Avraham's desire to teach the world about God, and the " souls they made in Charan" who went along on this epic journey were the intellectual and spiritual beneficiaries of Avraham's love of God. Ahavat Hashem poured from Avraham like a stream, washing over all those who came in contact with him. The huge influence Avraham had over the people of his generation is the manifestation of Avraham's love, and this is the Avraham we meet as Parshat Lech L'cha begins.

Rav and Shmuel disagree: One said, this refers to an orchard. (Avraham) planted an orchard in order to bring fruits to guests at his table. The other said that this refers to an inn: (Avraham) opened an inn and guesthouse to offer passersby all types of fruit… "And he called, etc.:" Therough the agency of this eshel the Holy One's Name was known as Master of the entire Universe, for after they would eat and drink (Avraham) would say to them, 'Bless the One whose food you have eaten. Do you think that you have eaten food that belongs to me? You have eaten the food of He who spoke and created the world. (Rashi on Bereishit 21, 33)

Kabbalistic sources interpret Avraham's acts of hesed in a similar vein:

The reason various Godly attributes are associated with the forefathers is because Avraham wished to resemble his Creator in the attribute of hesed. He wanted to perform acts of kindness for the people of his generation in order to draw them to worship God. With this intention he brought them to his home and gave them food and drink and drew their hearts to the service of God. This is absolute hesed that he did for them…And because this attribute is also called love, he was called "Avraham who loved me". And the Sefer HaBahir relates that the attribute of Hesed said to the Holy One, bleesed be He, 'Master of the Universe, all the days that Avraham lived there was no need for me to perform my task, for Avraham stood there in my place."(Sefer Maarekhet Elokit, Chapter 11)

The conduct and purpose of Avraham's life in Charan are built around acts of hesed, but this hesed is of one piece with Avraham's love of God. Avraham acts as a messenger of God, carrying out the Will of God to bring hesed into the world. He builds his home and concentrates all of his efforts in order to invite guests into his home and share with them an appreciation for the God of Hesed. Avraham's love of God is so great that he cannot keep it to himself, and the enlightenment he shares with his guests – not the food or drink he offers them – is the greatest hesed of all.

The Rambam, and the Netziv after him, described ahavat Hashem in terms that may be most accessible to students of modern philosophy:

One who serves God out of love engages in Torah and Mitzvot and walks the paths of wisdom, not because of any worldly concern and not out of fear of the evil that may befall him, and not to inherit the benefits that will result, rather he does the truth because it is truth, and in the end good will result because of it. This is a very high level and not all wise men achieve it. This is the level of Forefather Avraham, of whom God said "who loved me," for he served God only out of love. This is the level that God commanded us through Moshe, for it says "You shall love the Almighty your God." And when a person loves God with the appropriate type of love, he will immediately fulfill all the commandments out of love. (Rambam, Mishne Torah, Laws of Teshuva, Chapter 10)

Avraham was the first, the prototypical seeker of truth. He sought out truth, and found that God, in His hesed, is the source of truth. He therefore sought to emulate God, not in the hope of any reward or advantage, but because he loved truth. This, according to the Rambam, is the highest level of service of God: to fulfill commandments and to live truth because it is truth.

The Netziv traces this train of thought in other episodes in the parsha:

And only out of love do I serve, … By acting thus, Avraham demonstrated that he served only out of love and not for any reward. So it was in his words to the King of Sodom, for he did not seek any reward from the Holy One Blessed be He. "If I take anything that is yours:" If I seek no reward from God, I certainly seek no reward from you.(Ha'amek Davar on Bereishit 14:23)

When Avraham declines the reward offered to him by the King of Sodom, it is not because this money is tainted, or because Avraham hopes to receive a much greater reward from God. Avraham seeks no reward for doing what is right, for championing justice. He acts as he does simply out of ahavat Hashem.

And yet, although this school of thought seems to present an extremely intellectual approach, equating ahavat Hashem with the search for truth, in this same passage the Rambam describes ahavat Hashem in distinctly emotional terms: ahavat Hashem is an all-consuming emotional state which motivates and animates. It is lovesickness for God's proximity, intimacy, favor.

This leads us to an underlying question that remains unanswered: Is Avraham's discovery of God an expression or an outgrowth of Avraham's own particular personality? Is he able to relate to God as a God of love because he himself is a person imbued with this outlook? Or does Avraham become the person most identified with loving others because of his discovery of God and his desire to emulate and relate to God? This question becomes most poignant when we consider the akeida, the ultimate test of Avraham's hesed. It iswith this test that the Torah throws a spotlight on the entire question of Avraham's personality, his relationship with God, and the very essence of God's hesed. Our dilemma is concentrated on the words of the angel who intervenes at the last moment and stops Avraham from sacrificing his son Yitzchak:

And an angel of God called out to him from heaven and said, "Avraham, Avraham." And he said, "I am here." And he said, "Do not put your hand to the boy and do not do anything to him, for now I know that you are God-fearing for you did not deny me your only son."(Bereishit 22, 11-12)

Avraham relates to God as the source of all hesed. How, then, does he respond to the commandment to sacrifice his son, the object of all his hopes and prayers, the culmination of 100 years of waiting? At no point does Avraham argue, as he did on behalf of the people of Sodom. At no instant does he doubt God's hesed ; at no time does he invoke justice. How are we to understand this?

Our first response seems to be supported by the text itself: Avraham responded with fear. Avraham's love of God was tested by fear of God, and he passed the test: the angel declared that Avraham had proven that he was God-fearing. In light of everything we have seen, this answer is somehow unsatisfying. Avraham did not respond with fear, nor is his legacy to us one of fear.

This raises a question, for we know that Avraham was God-loving, as it says "descendents of Avraham who loved me." How did he (i.e., the angel) not praise him for his great attribute of hesed and only praised his yir'a? We know that everything that Avraham did, he did out of ahava and the superiority of ahava over yir'a is like the superiority of light over darkness. Thus, we should take note of the kabbalistic teaching that there are two types of yir'a – internal and external. External yir'a is inferiorto ahava but internal but internal yir'a is greatly superior to ahava. How is this so? External yir'a is the secret of all those who fear transgressing the word of the King, for fear that they will be caught and punished. Internal yir'a stems from comprehension of the true stature of the Creator…When a person reaches this understanding, they become afraid that they are unworthy to stand in the presence of the King. (Recanati on the Torah, Parshat Vayera)

The akeida is not a test designed to break Avraham's natural inclination to hesed. Out of love of God, Avraham proceeds: Even the akeida is ahava because ahava is doing truth because it is truth. What is the definition of truth? Whatever God says it is. God is truth, and His commandment is truth. Sacrificing Yitzchak is truth, a manifestation of love and not of fear. Avraham's ahavat Hashem brings him to the level that the Recanati describes as "internal yir'a": Avraham does not want to cause God any disappointment or separation. Avraham is full of love, both for God and for his own son Yitzchak. When God forces him to choose between these two loves, Avraham chooses the love of God, which necessarily assumes, and subsumes, all other love.

Ultimately, God does not force Avraham to consummate this choice, and the heavenly voice commands Avraham to desist. This, too, is seen by our sages as a test: Avraham does not fear punishment; he fears that he will be unworthy of God's presence. He is almost overcome by his desire to consummate his choice, to act upon his ahavat Hashem. His most concerted effort is in pulling back, stopping short of sacrifice. He overcomes his dread of separation from God; he forces himself to obey the commandment to desist, to override his inclination to give everything he has.

Avraham, motivated by his greatlove of God, dedicated his life to emulating God through hesed, and started a relationship which is replicated by his descendants to this very day. Our challenge is to emulate Avraham by finding our own love of God. We hope and pray that martyrdom will not be required of us, and that instead we can manifest our love of God through acts of hesed, through sharing our knowledge of God with others, by calling all of humanity to serve God – with love.

[1] Regarding the midrashic material describing Avraham's early life see Explorations.

Monday, October 19, 2009

In a generation of moral decay, one man shines. Noah is a righteous man, perfect in his generation. From the scant biographical details reported in the verses, we know that he has three sons, but nothing is reported about his spouse, the woman behind this illustrious man.

﻿And, behold, I, myself, bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh that possesses the breath of life, from under heaven; and every thing that is on the earth shall die. But with you will I establish my covenant; and you shall come into the ark, you, and your sons, and your wife, and your sons’ wives with you. Bereishit 6:17,18

The syntax of this verse is curious: rather than stating “you and your wife, your sons and their wives,” the order of the relationships seems unnatural: ‘you and your sons, your wife and your son’s wives. Rashi learns from this syntax that conjugal relations were prohibited on the Ark; the men and women were segregated.[2]

Strangely, other than the fact that Noach is instructed to separate from the mother of his children while on the Ark, there is nothing else in the text of the Torah about this woman.

This lacuna is filled in by the Oral Torah; although the Torah is silent, tradition identifies Noach’s wife by name from among the genealogical information at the end of Parshat Bereishit. And this name affords us a great deal of information and insight.

ספר בראשית פרק ד, פסוק כ"ב

רש"י על בראשית פרק ד פסוק כב

נעמה - היא אשתו של נח

Noach’s wife is identified as Na’ama, daughter of Lemech and Tzillah. One might posit that tradition makes this identification in keeping with the internal logic often described as the biblical “theory of conservation of characters”[3]: Later in the text, a woman named Na’ama makes a significant appearance in the narrative, and the sages always attempt to avoid spreading the onomasticon of biblical characters too thin. However, the more we delve into this woman’s background and life-story, the more we understand the story of the flood, and the more it becomes apparent that the sages did not identify Noach’s wife as Na’ama in an arbitrary pastiche of biblical names and characters; Noach’s wife could only be Na’ama.

Two Lemechs

Rashi makes the connection between this child born to Lemech and Tzillah and the unnamed wife of Noach. Ironically, Noach’s father was also named Lemech. Lest one think that this is in fact the same Lemech, we need only review the 4th chapter of Bereishit to trace the family line of Na’ama back to Cain, and the 5th chapter of Bereishit to find the family line of Noach which began with Shet. These are, in fact, distinct, independent families that merge in the union of Noach and Na’ama, who coincidently had fathers with the same name. As we shall see, their genealogies are not only quite distinct, they are qualitatively different. But in order to fully understand the significance of the union of Noach and Na’ama, we must take a step back to view the larger picture.

Replacing Hevel

The death of Hevel hovers over the narrative; it is the pivotal moment, the major episode, and, perhaps the trauma in need of healing. A replacement for Hevel must be found.

It is in this context that Na’ama’s family line begins - as a postscript to the tragic murder of Hevel by his brother Cain.

ספר בראשית פרק ד, פסוק י"ז

﻿And Cain knew his wife; and she conceived, and bore Chanoch; and he built a city, and called the name of the city, after the name of his son, Chanoch. Bereishit 4, 17

Cain moves on with his life; he marries and has a child named Chanoch.[4] He then builds a city, and names it after his son. Ironically, or perhaps defiantly, Cain, who is condemned to wander the earth in punishment for the murder of Hevel, is the first person to attempt to build an urban center. The name he chooses for his son and for the city he builds, Chanoch, has a connotation of “to establish”.

Chanoch, in turn, has a descendent named Lemech, who starts a family in an interesting fashion; he takes not one – but two wives.

And to Chanoch was born Irad; and Irad fathered Mehuyael; and Mehuyael fathered Metushael; and Metushael fathered Lamech. And Lemech took for himself two wives; the name of one was Adah, and the name of the other Zillah. Bereishit 4, 18-19

Two Wives

Rashi paints the practice of taking two wives in unmistakably negative terms: this is the behavior of the generation of the flood. One wife was wed for solely utilitarian purposes: she was to bear children and work in the household. The other wife was designated for pleasure: she would be rendered infertile by means of a birth-control potion, for the sake of maintaining her figure. This “trophy wife” would dress in beautiful clothing and eat delicacies while the other wife worked. [5] While this practice was not the main transgression of the generation of the flood, it is certainly among the morally reprehensible behaviors our sages regarded as the cause of the flood.[6] In fact, similar practices continued to draw harsh rebuke in the words of the Prophets – and are tragically echoed in our own day and age: The Prophets Malachi and Yishayahu saw this practice as an expression of immorality and disloyalty, and warned that God Himself would treat those who were disloyal to “the wife of their youth” in kind.

ספר מלאכי פרק ב, פסוק י"ד

And you say, ‘Why is this so?’ Because God has been witness between you and the wife of your youth, to whom you have been faithless, yet she is your companion, and the wife of your covenant. Malachai 2:14[7]

R. Eliezer said: If (a man) divorces his first wife, the very Altar sheds tears, as it is written: ‘And this further you do, you cover the Altar of God with tears, with weeping and with sighing, so much that He no longer regards your offerings, nor does He receive them with good will from your hand.’ Further it is written: ‘Yet you say, ‘Why?’ Because God has been witness between you and the wife of your youth, against whom you have dealt treacherously, though she is your companion and the wife of your covenant.’ Samuel b. Nahman said: All things can be replaced, except the wife of one's youth, as it is written, ‘And a wife of [one's] youth, can she be rejected?’ Talmud Bavli Sanhedrin 22a

The Jewish ethos abhors the rejection of the first wife. This is the case not only when a man takes two wives, but also if he casts aside the first wife, the older woman who has borne his children and built her life around him and their home, in favor of a younger woman. Lemech was the first to create the impossible situation of “eating the cake and having it, too”: one wife for work and one wife for play. While this is not the only incidence in Bereishit in which a man takes two wives, in no other case did the man set out to do so as a premeditated course of action. In almost every instance the arrival of the second wife is due to infertility in the first. Other than Lemech, the only person who set out a priori to take two wives was Esav.

﻿34. And Esav was forty years old when he married Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Bas’mat the daughter of Elon the Hittite; Bereishit 26:34

Esav reminds us of Cain in many ways, not the least of which is his penchant for violence. We have discussed elsewhere[9] Esav’s propensity for superficial thinking and his insatiable need to dominate and possess. It should therefore come as no surprise that the model he chose for his most intimate relationships is this morally reprehensible practice introduced by Lemech. Indeed, this must be viewed as one more in a long list of behaviors that connect Esav with Cain and his descendents.

Lemech was more than a trendsetter; his behavior represents a corruption of the morals upon which human society is based. When Lemech took two wives, he expressed a much larger, much deeper ego-centrism: ‘What’s in it for me? What do I gain from this relationship?’

The paradigm which existed up to this point is based upon very different principles: The first chapter of Bereishit introduces male and female with the stated purpose of procreation, while the second chapter speaks of oneness, even sexual unity, but makes no mention of procreation. Which is the “real” wife from a Torah perspective? Apparently, the answer is – “both”. The merger of the two images creates the unified picture of the whole woman. To divide the roles is to objectify women based on utility; this is not the ideal to which the Torah ascribes, not the ideal toward which mankind is meant to strive. A wife, a partner, a helpmate – a soulmate - is both a mother and a lover.

Nonetheless, Lemech takes his two wives, dissecting and rebuilding the moral underpinnings of the family unit to reflect his personal greed and egocentrism. Rashi teaches that Adah was designated to be the childbearer,[10] while Tzillah was chosen for her beauty.[11] In fulfillment of her role, Adah bears children. First, she has a child named Yaval, a name which seems to shadow “Hevel”. We are forced to consider the complexity of this situation over and over: Cain killed Hevel, and his descendents name their children, time and time again, after the “missing” brother, the brother whom their own forefather killed.

ספר בראשית פרק ד, פסוק כ

וַתֵּלֶד עָדָה אֶת יָבָל הוּא הָיָה אֲבִי ישֵׁב אֹהֶל וּמִקְנֶה:

And Adah bore Yaval; he was the father of those who live in tents, and of those who have cattle. Ereishit 4, 20

Not only is his name reminiscent of Hevel, but Yaval adopts Hevel’s vocation; he becomes a man of the tents and a shepherd. Adah’s second son is named Yuval, a name remarkably similar to his brother Yaval and, again, reminiscent of Hevel. He is a musician; the merger of these two sons produces a musician/shepherd, stirring for the reader images of King David.

ספר בראשית פרק ד, פסוק כ"א

And his brother’s name was Yuval; he was the father of all who handle the harp and pipe. Bereishit 4, 21

Lemech, fifth in the line established by Cain after his exile, seems intent on making reparations. Not only does he kill Cain, he names his children after Cain’s victim, a man who never had children of his own. Lemech’s children are, in some way, replacements for Hevel.

Although the names Lemech gives his children may indicate that he is attempting to replace Hevel, his modus operandi is a very Cain-like.[12]

﻿And Lamech said to his wives, Adah and Zillah, Hear my voice; you wives of Lamech, listen to my speech; for I have slain a man[13] for wounding me, and a young man for hurting me. If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, truly Lamech seventy and sevenfold. Bereishit 4, 23-24

Lemech is not only a descendent of Cain in terms of genealogy or genetics; his behavior indicates that he is a follower of Cain, behaviorally and perhaps philosophically. Lemech is the second person in history to commit murder; the victim is none other than the first person in history to have committed murder – Cain himself! He himself draws a parallel between them, expressing to his wives his own inner sense that his fate will parallel that of Cain.

Yet despite Lemech’s best plans, Tzillah, the “trophy wife”, also bears children:[14] first, a son named Tuval-Cain, a name which seems to conjure up not only Hevel, but a merger with Cain. This son of Tzillah worked with metals:

ספר בראשית פרק ד, פסוק כ"ב

And Zillah, she also bore Tuval-Cain, forger of every sharp instrument in bronze and iron… Bereishit 4, 22

Here again, we are told of Tuval-Cain’s choice of vocation. We cannot but wonder what it was that attracted Tuval-Cain to this particular line of work; was it in imitation of Cain’s vocation as a farmer that Tuval-Cain produced plowshares and farming implements, or in imitation of the homicidal tendencies of Cain and his own father Lemech that he perfected the manufacture of weapons? It is not difficult to imagine either scenario, or even a third possibility: Could he have convinced others that the sharp instruments he was producing were intended for peaceful, domestic use – when in fact he fully intended to fall into step with his murderous ancestors when the opportunity presented itself?[15]

It seems only in passing that we are told that Tuval-Cain had a sister, Na’ama.

ספר בראשית פרק ד, פסוק כ"ב

And Zillah, she also bore Tuval-Cain, forger of every sharp instrument in bronze and iron; and Tuval-Cain’s sister was Na’ama. Bereishit 4, 22

Na’ama was not “incidentally” the sister of Tuval-Cain. She was the final link in chain which began with Cain and is traced through Lemech, who bestowed upon his children the legacy of Hevel. This very Na’ama will facilitate the merger of the genealogical lines: a descendent of Cain, a stand-in for Hevel, she marries Noach, a descendent of Shet - himself a replacement for Hevel:

And Adam knew his wife again; and she bore a son, and called his name Shet, “For God has appointed me another seed instead of Hevel, whom Cain slew.’ And to Shet, to him also there was born a son; and he called his name Enosh; then began men to call upon the Almighty God by name. Bereishit 4, 25-26

Noach preserves the line of Shet, the elevated son of Adam and Eve who was uniquely endowed with the breath of the divine. For better or worse, Cain’s family line is also preserved, through Na’ama. Even after the great flood which purges the world of sin and restores purity and equilibrium, Na’ama carries the line of Cain into the world.[16] Na’ama, the wife of Noach, survives; the line of Cain lives on.

Redeeming Cain

Why must this be so? Does this line deserve preservation? Is the line of Cain redeemable? The crux of this question centers on Na’ama, and the answers offered by our sages vary: Some claim that she was a worthy mate for Noach; she, as he, was righteous.[17] Others identify Na’ama as a demonic figure[18] who was guilty of causing even the angels to fall.[19] This tradition of “fallen angels” is associated with the enigmatic “bnei elohim” and the equally mysterious “Nefilim” who appear at the very end of Parshat Bereishit, as part of the backdrop to the generation of the flood:

﻿And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born to them; That the sons of the powerful saw the daughters of men that they were pretty; and they took as wives all those whom they chose. There were Nefilim in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of powerful came in to the daughters of men, and they bore children to them, the same became mighty men of old, men of renown. Bereishit 6:1,2,4

﻿This passage seems to outline the existence of various strata of society – even strata of humanity: the sons of the powerful, the daughters of man, the even-more-obscure Nefilim. We have suggested the possibility that the ‘sons of the powerful’ are “prehistoric” soulless humanoids, offspring of Adam and Eve who did not possess the breath of the divine which distinguished Adam, Eve and their son Shet.[20] This line, then, would include Cain; it is preserved through Na’ama.[21]

Saint or Demon?

Is Na’ama a demon-like temptress, or a fitting spouse for the great tzaddik, the most righteous man of the generation? We should recall that Noach’s wife entered the Ark with the other women, and Rashi noted that this indicates the abstinence that would be practiced on the boat. If this is Na’ama, the conclusion is startling, the contrast stark: This woman is the daughter of Tzillah, the “trophy wife” taken by Lemech solely for the purpose of hedonistic pleasure. Here she stands, as the waters begin to cover the earth, the leader of the women who have been chosen to bring about the historic reconciliation, the rebirth of creation – by means of preserving abstinence and holiness on the ark. Seen in this light, Na’ama is anything but a brazen seductress.

As the flood narrative unfolds, so many details of the story begin to take on different hues when viewed from the perspective of Na’ama’s personal history: All of the creatures board the Ark in pairs, in what may now be seen as a polemic against Lemech’s bigamy and the corruption and egocentricity of that entire generation. And yet, the order of the day, the way that Creation will be preserved and redeemed, is not through the sexuality of these pairs but through their abstinence. The family unit on the Ark that is entrusted with preserving all of creation will work together with common purpose, as helpmates, as soulmates. They will assist Noach in assuming the role of caretaker for all the species – the shepherd for all of creation, as it were. Only when the descendents of Cain and of Shet join together to assume the vocation left vacant by Hevel’s death can humanity be redeemed. When Noach later reverts to the role of Cain – planting a vineyard and turning his back on the role of shepherd, he is humiliated and his descendents are cursed. The role of Hevel brings salvation; the role of Cain brings ignominy.

We may now view Cham’s outrageous behavior as a throwback to the pre-flood generation,[22] or as a reemergence of the Cain genes that Cham inherited through Na’ama. In fact, throughout the book of Bereishit, the men who use sexual conquest as a means of domination and abuse power and sexuality in a volatile mix are all descendents of Cham: Pharoh, [23] Avimelech, the men of Sodom[24] are all descendants of Cham. The background of the flood, the corruption of a world in which women are objectified and valued only for their utility, coupled with violence and paved the way for destruction. It is for this reason that Rashi stresses that Lemech’s behavior was prototypical of that generation. As we read the story of Cham’s violation of Noach in the aftermath of the flood, as we trace this same streak of violence and sexuality from the Serpent[25], through Cain, to Cham, and through the generations of Cham’s descendents, a certain fatalism seeps in. Was it really necessary to preserve the line of Cain, to keep this streak alive and send it out into the world after the flood? Once again, the answer lies with Na’ama: Here is the child of Lemech and Tzillah, the product of an unholy union born in hedonism and selfishness, heir to the dubious legacy of violence passed down from Cain. And yet, Na’ama was a righteous woman. She was a worthy mate for the son of Shet, a worthy progenitor for the new world that would arise after the flood.

In fact, Na’ama is held up as a shining example of the efficacy of Teshuva: Rav Zadok Hakohen points to Na’ama as proof that even Cain’s Teshuva was real; no descendents of the stature of Na’ama and Avraham could have been possible otherwise. Teshuva is an absolute; it is always possible and always effective.[26]

Our failures are always attributable to others – background and social pressures, genetics and upbringing. We learn from Na’ama that despite the violent, oppressive nature of the surrounding society, despite the extremely challenging family history, despite the genetic and genealogical challenges with which we are born, we are all capable of making choices for our own lives. Although the line of the Serpent, of Cain, lives on within each of us,[27] God does not despair of our capacity to rise above, to connect with the divine breath with which he has endowed each and every one of us. And if He believes in us, can we believe any less?

[1] This shiur was originally delivered orally in honor of my parents’ 50th wedding anniversary; I am pleased to offer it in written form in honor of their 55th anniversary. May they enjoy many more years together, in health and happiness, and nachat from their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

מדרש רבה בראשית פרשה כב פסקה ב

R. Eleazar b. ‘Azariah said: Three wonders were performed on that day: on that very day they were created, on that very day they cohabited, and on that very day they produced off- spring. R. Joshua b. Karhah said: Only two entered the bed, and seven left it: Cain and his twin sister, Abel and his two twin sisters.

[13] While the verse is inexplicit as to the identity of the victim of Lemech, tradition tells us that it is Cain, see Rashi 4:23.

﻿“And the sister of Tuval-Cain was Na’amah.’ R. Abba b. Kahana said: Na’amah was Noach's wife; and why was she called Na’amah? Because her deeds were pleasing (ne'imim). The Rabbis said: Na’amah was a woman of a different stamp, for the name denotes that she sang (man'emeth) to the timbrel in honor of idolatry.

[20] See my notes on last week’s Parsha: http://arikahn.blogspot.com/2009/10/parshat-bereshit-5770-in-search-of.html

[21] This does not help us understand the Nefilim, which literally means “the fallen ones”. See Talmud Bavli Yoma 67b:

תלמוד בבלי מסכת יומא דף סז עמוד ב

תנא דבי רבי ישמעאל: עזאזל - שמכפר על מעשה עוזא ועזאל.

Rashi explains that these were destructive angels, products of Na’ama’s seduction. For more on these angels see Rav Reuven Margoliot, Malachei Elyon page 273ff, Zohar Bereshit 23a. Also see Rashi Talmud Bavli Yoma 67b, and Midrash Aggada (Buber) Bereishit chapter 4 which states that the angels were tempted by her beauty, but she avoided their advances.

about me

Subscribe Now: text

About Me

Born in Brooklyn NY, moved to Israel in 1984.
I teach and write about Torah topics. Author of "Explorations" on the weekly Parsha and "Emanations" on holidays - both published by Targum/Feldheim
http://rabbiarikahn.com
ebook available
http://www.peopleoftheebooks.com/Book/Explorations.aspx?uid=79
Echoes of Eden - http://www.peopleoftheebooks.com/Book/Echoes+of+Eden.aspx?uid=189
http://www.gefenpublishing.com/product.asp?productid=1037